Exec Pushes Macintosh For Businesses

Formerly corporate sales manager at Apple specialist AIS Computers, Fayetteville, Ga., McDaniel has launched MacBasics, a consulting firm aimed at evangelizing the Mac platform and partnering with Apple VARs to build solutions. Though the Mac has less than a 5 percent share of the desktop market, he said, his Atlanta-based start-up has a compelling business case: Apple's year-old Mac OS X operating system offers SMBs and enterprises greater productivity than competing platforms such as Microsoft Windows.

"Many businesses haven't considered the Macintosh for years, and when they hear 'Mac' they only remember what they saw 10 years ago. They haven't considered that this platform has changed and could be a powerful business tool," said McDaniel, MacBasics president and CEO. "Mac OS X brings so much more to the table."

OS X provides "rock-solid" system stability and minimizes downtime because it's based on Unix, which, unlike the traditional Mac operating system, has broad mind share in corporate IT departments, McDaniel said. What's more, OS X's slick, user-friendly Aqua interface speeds desktop workflow and is swaying a rising number of software developers to build powerful applications for the Mac, he added.

MacBasics serves in a general-contractor role by gauging customer needs, recommending solutions and enlisting Apple VARs to design and implement systems and deliver Mac hardware and software to clients. "We want them to use a local Apple specialist," McDaniel said. "Depending on the customers' needs, we either go out and find a solution or find someone to develop a solution for them."

So far, MacBasics has focused primarily on CRM by being the sales outlet for SafariGuide, a cross-platform, FileMaker-based CRM suite from VisionLed, Watkinsville, Ga.

"We now have 22 Apple specialists evaluating SafariGuide for their own use that also are interested in becoming resellers for VisionLed," McDaniel said.

MacBasics also develops custom solutions for data tracking, business process management and automation, including ways to better use the Mac operating system's AppleScript tool.

In the enterprise arena, MacBasics has several large New York advertising agency clients and is targeting other verticals such as high-end publishing, professional video and broadcasting, McDaniel said. Yet SMBs remain MacBasics' most promising market.

"Where we feel Apple can have the most impact in the shortest amount of time is the SMB space," McDaniel said. "And on the SMB front, we're trying to get away from just targeting businesses that are traditional Mac users. We're targeting companies with a base of five to 250 employees, which is where the growth is for Apple and where our growth will come from. We want to show these businesses how OS X-based solutions will help them get more ROI from their MIS."